The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) has dismissed reports suggesting that the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) is being sold, describing the claims as false.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, GIADEC clarified that government policy remains firmly focused on reviving and expanding VALCO, not selling it. The corporation explained that a strategic equity investor has been shortlisted as part of ongoing efforts to retrofit and expand VALCO and to construct a greenfield alumina refinery in Ghana.
According to GIADEC, the planned partnership involves a partial equity ceding arrangement that will inject capital and technical expertise into VALCO while ensuring that government, through GIADEC, retains significant ownership and strategic control. The objective is to modernise operations, increase production, safeguard existing jobs and support Ghana’s industrial growth.
The corporation stated that the partnership is a key component of its national strategy to develop a fully integrated aluminium industry value chain, covering bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and downstream manufacturing.
GIADEC noted that the proposed investment is expected to raise VALCO’s annual production capacity from the current 40,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes within 36 months, while creating and safeguarding thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
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The process to secure a strategic equity investor, GIADEC said, follows a policy direction approved by Cabinet in 2022. That approval allowed GIADEC and VALCO to pursue equity investment for the smelter’s modernisation. An independent technical and financial assessment conducted by KPMG in 2022 identified equity investment as the most commercially viable and legally sound option for reviving VALCO.
The statement added that a review of VALCO’s 2025 financial position highlighted the urgent need for such a partnership to halt further decline and restore productive capacity.
In 2025, a 12-member cross-sectoral committee made up of representatives from VALCO, GIADEC and the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources, Energy and Green Transition, Finance, and Trade was established to assess proposals from interested entities. The committee’s work was guided by national development criteria, including job retention and creation, plant expansion using modern technology, value addition and support for a 24-hour economy. Its report and recommendations were subsequently submitted to the GIADEC Board and the sector minister.
GIADEC reiterated that government has no intention of selling VALCO, stressing that the strategy is to cede a portion of its equity in exchange for capital injection, technological retooling and comprehensive retrofitting of the smelter.
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The corporation assured VALCO staff that the partnership will not result in job losses but will instead create more employment opportunities and improve working conditions.
GIADEC called on the public to support what it described as a vital national project aimed at restoring VALCO’s production capacity and strengthening its contribution to Ghana’s industrial and economic development.
Below is a copy of the statement:
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
